


Stars and Memories

by RandomPanda



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi | Fire Emblem: Binding Blade, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 19:53:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13841856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomPanda/pseuds/RandomPanda
Summary: Under the night sky, a brother and a son pay tribute to the same woman.





	Stars and Memories

Nils recalled the sound of her voice, the pace of her steps, and the flow of her movements. Sad as she might’ve looked on some days, she always managed a dance or two, letting her pale dress and hair ride the wind. A few pivots and a twirl later, and soon, her mouth inverted into a smile. The smile grew wider as vigor reignited her spirit, prompting him to speed up the tempo of the notes he played on his flute. She’d gone her own way in those instances, improvising new dance steps while he, her little brother, had to figure out how to match his tune with both her pace and her energy. He enjoyed those days much better than the ones where the reverse had been true instead.

As Nils gazed upon the starlit sky, he sat himself on a rock on the temple grounds. They’d played here in their youth and headed many rituals. The rock had always been his spot, as his much younger self declared eons ago. Ahead of him lay the grass patch his sister had used as a dancing arena, and where they developed their routine. The hours they’d spent trying to coordinate his notes with her steps! And despite all the work, they’d each forced the other into impromptu changes as their creativity ran away with them.

Nils laughed quietly, half aware none would hear him but the grass beneath his feet and the lake to his left. His red eyes lingered on the shining moon and the stream of stars running beside it. Moments like this one reminded him he was alone, that his sister had found a path long ago and pursued it. She’d made up her mind, and he chose not to argue. How could he deprive her of the one chance she had? So he’d encouraged her to follow her heart. From that day forth, her steps no longer followed his notes and vice versa. Always was he aware of her absence, but also did he know of her happiness.

Even so, while he watched the twinkling stars, he envisioned how she might’ve danced with her beloved. What sort of music did they dance to in that distant land? A part of him wondered if the music was at least half as good as his, and he laughed in earnest at his old pride. Imagining his sister’s chastising face did nothing to calm him down. “ _If you’re so worried, why not play a tune of your own_?” she’d likely ask. He’d ask in turn if she had a child or two yet, and he could just imagine all the odd faces they’d make afterwards.

He let the mirth overtake him and tumbled off the rock. When the moment passed, he climbed back to his spot and slid his flute out of his pouch. If his sister somehow watched him from the stars now, it wouldn’t do for her to find him wallowing in loneliness. As her dances had soothed herself and him, so had his songs soothed himself and her.

Nils brought the flute to his mouth and played a tune. He decided to improvise like old times, letting crescendos and decrescendos come and go as he felt best. He pictured his sister’s dancing once more, wondering if she could hear him from wherever she was now.

* * *

Roy wandered the halls of Castle Pherae until he ventured out to the grassy grounds. The clear night allowed the brightness of the full moon to fall upon all below. With each step he took underneath the light, he recalled the lullaby she used to sing, the warmth of her hugs, and the light airiness in each of her steps. As the images rushed through him, he spun the flute in his hand.

He remembered the melody of the old lullaby better than the words, but he was sure it had something to do with the stars. How interesting it would be if the lyrics attributed the stars to memories, but he couldn’t recall enough to know for certain. He was sure the stars had been the central topic, though.

Roy let out a short, rueful laugh. He could name a myriad of facts and random trivia off the top of his head at any given moment, but the words of an old lullaby eluded him. Hardly a fitting way to pay tribute to a mother he barely knew. That defeated the purpose of coming outside at this time of night—that is, if he just turned and walked back inside then and there. But he refused. Instead, he turned his blue eyes to the sky, the moon, and the stream of stars.

When he faced forward, a new image came to mind. A small boy with ruffled red hair walked beside a woman with long locks of pale hair whose color matched her dress. They held hands and approached a redheaded man, dressed in blue, who knelt by a white horse lying down. Roy could picture his father, his mother, and the horse with a good deal of clarity, but not so much the toddling child he used to be. Back then, his chin came up to the horse’s nose. His parents took turns holding him, whether he stood next to the old horse or sat on its back. At one point, however, his mother broke off from them.

Roy recalled sitting beside the horse, who never seemed to mind his incessant petting. He’d stopped long enough to watch his mother step, pivot, step, pivot, then twirl, after which she’d asked, “ _Shall we_?” Understanding, his father smiled and rose to join her. Despite the absence of minstrels, guests, or food, his parents moved together to a tune only they heard with their child and the old horse as the sole witnesses—up until the boy began to jump and spin in an attempt to dance. Roy stifled a sheepish laugh as he realized with some embarrassment he hadn’t improved much since then.

The feeling subsided as he took in the present-day scenery once more. He stood alone here, the old horse and his mother having passed on years ago, and his father having gone to sleep earlier in the night. If Roy had any other relatives, particularly on his mother’s side, he knew nothing of them. Even so, he remembered the spot where his parents had danced that day the moment he stepped up to it. He walked over to where the old horse once lay before he turned to face the castle, but more importantly, that spot. As his parents’ dance replayed itself in his mind, Roy brought the flute to his mouth. For a moment, he had no idea what to play.

Then he started with the old lullaby, after which he improvised. Before he knew it, he lost himself in the outpouring of notes, soothed by the act of playing alone. And as he played, he wondered if his mother danced to the tune amid the stars.


End file.
